Dutch aid worker abducted in northern Afghanistan

A Dutch aid worker was captured yesterday at gunpoint along with his driver in northern Afghanistan.

A Takhar provincial spokesman announced that Peter Brown working for Streams, a charity organization that helps the disabled, was abducted Monday morning by eight gunmen and transferred to Khan Abad.

While the authorities have begun rescue operations, no organizations, including the Taliban, has taken responsibility for the abduction.

Last month, Linda Norgrove, a British citizen and employee of the American aid organization, Development Alternatives Inc, was abducted in the east of Afghanistan by the Taliban.

She was killed in a rescue operation carried out by the US forces which led to protests from Britain, and US announcement that the operation was under investigation to establish how the aid worker was killed.

Last summer, the United Nations announced that within six months seven aid workers were killed and 63 were abducted in Afghanistan. The UN went on to urge all those involved in the conflicts to respect the efforts of aid workers and refrain from targeting employees of charity organizations.